WalkAway campaign

The WalkAway campaign, also styled #WalkAway, is a social media campaign that was launched ahead of the United States 2018 mid-term elections by Brandon Straka, a hairstylist and actor from New York City.[1][2] According to the campaign's website, the campaign "encourages and supports those on the Left to walk away from the divisive tenets endorsed and mandated by the Democratic Party of today."[3]

New York Post and Fox News websites posted coverage of WalkAway after a Washington rally in 2018.[4][5] In August 2019, President Donald Trump thanked Straka on Twitter for the movement.[6]

History

The WalkAway campaign was launched in 2018 by hairstylist and actor Brandon Straka. Straka is from New York City and openly gay, and claims to have been a liberal Democrat until 2017. It is a big tent conservative movement of individuals leaving the Democratic Party, but has largely centered on support for Donald Trump and his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. Comparable to the Blexit movement of African-Americans leaving the Democratic Party, WalkAway focuses on amplifying former progressive Democrats and members of traditionally progressive groups (LGBTQ Americans, etc.) in order to promote a conservative agenda. While similar in its messaging to the concept of the Reagan Democrat from Ronald Reagan's 1980 and 1984 presidential campaigns, the scale of the WalkAway movement is unclear and highly debated.

Scale

News sources have debated the extent to which WalkAway is an example of astroturfing rather than a genuine grassroots movement, with some arguing that it is entirely one, others stating it is only partially, and still others saying it is not at all. David A. Love of CNN condemned the campaign as "pure propaganda, a psychological operation" and "connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots".[7] The website Hamilton 68, which tracks Russia's interference on U.S. elections, reported that WalkAway was "connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots to manipulate voters into thinking the movement was more popular and active that it actually was."[6] However Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept claims "Hamilton 68 was, and remains, incredibly opaque about its methodology, refusing even to identify which accounts they designate as “promoting Russian influence online.”"[8]

Abby Ohlheiser in The Washington Post claimed "There’s little actual evidence to suggest that #WalkAway represents a mass conversion of millions – or even thousands – of Democrats", and contrasted the broad appeal of true viral videos with the "Conservative Internet viral" nature of the WalkAway video.[9] ThinkProgress characterized the campaign as "a grifting operation," noting efforts by the organizers to sell dinner packages priced in the hundreds of dollars to march attendees.[10]

It was reported in the Daily Wire in May 2020 that the combined followers of the #WalkAway Facebook page and its affiliated Facebook group totaled 395,000, with YouTube and Twitter having 146,000 and 71,000 respectively.[11] It is unclear how much of this following comes from former Democrats, and how many consider themselves active parts of the movement.

Notable figures

Some notable former Democrats who have been associated with the movement, some of whom left during the movement and others who left before, include:

Controversies

Slate journalist Mark Joseph Stern accused Brandon Straka of presenting royalty-free stock images from Shutterstock and claiming they were of people who had left the Democratic Party.[13] Straka has denied that any such material originated from the WalkAway campaign. Snopes posted a tweet from Stern stating that the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas shared the meme.[14]

Straka has stated that WalkAway does not receive major donations and that "everything is grassroots support from Americans who send us $5 or $100."[6] As of May 2020, the Center for Responsive Politics reported that of the $20,004 donated to WalkAway in 2020, $7,521 were contributed by nine large ($200 or more) donors—of which Straka is one.[15]

Brandon Straka was removed from an American Airlines flight in June 2020 for his refusal to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

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See also

References
  1. FitSimons, Tim (21 August 2018). "Meet Brandon Straka, a gay former liberal encouraging others to #WalkAway from Democrats". NBC News. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  2. #WalkAway Campaign Official YouTube (2018-06-29), #WalkAway - Brandon Straka, "Why I left the Democrat Party", retrieved 2018-11-03
  3. #WalkAway Campaign", retrieved 2020-01-21
  4. "#Walkaway movement urges liberals to abandon Democrats". New York Post. 2018-10-27. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  5. "#WalkAway movement urges disgruntled Democrats to leave the party behind". Fox News. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  6. Suggs, Ernie. "#Walkaway movement to hold Atlanta event amid questions about support". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  7. Love, David A. "Russian bots are using #WalkAway to try to wound Dems in midterms". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  8. McGrath, Glenn Greenwald. "How Shoddy Reporting and Anti-Russian Propaganda Coerced Ecuador to Silence Julian Assange". The Intercept. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  9. Ohlheiser, Abby (2 July 2018). "Analysis | The #WalkAway meme is what happens when everything is viral and nothing matters". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  10. Michel, Casey (16 October 2018). "Pro-Trump #WalkAway March has all the signs of a grifting operation". ThinkProgress.
  11. The Daily Wire - "Two Years Later: #WalkAway Founder Brandon Straka Talks Leaving The Left, President Trump, And The Campaign's Success"
  12. The Daily Wire - "Rubin: Why I Left The Left"
  13. "These people who "walked away from the Democrats" are stock-photo models". Fast Company. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  14. "FACT CHECK: Did the #WalkAway Campaign Use Stock Photographs for People It Claimed Left the Democratic Party?". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  15. "Walkaway Campaign PAC Summary | OpenSecrets". www.opensecrets.org. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  16. MSN - "Passenger Removed From Flight for Refusing to Wear Mask"
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